Miller Makes 15 Saves for Shoremen

SALISBURY, MD - Second-ranked host Salisbury University scored all three third-quarter goals to pull away from visiting Washington College en route to a 12-7 win in the annual "War on the Shore" for the Charles B. Clark Cup in front of a crowd of 2,504 this afternoon on Sea Gull Field.  The Sea Gulls improved to 18-1 with the win, while the Shoremen finished the season at 4-10 with the loss.

Junior midfielder Doug Herdegen (Baltimore, MD/Archbishop Curley) gave the Shoremen a 1-0 lead with a goal two minutes into the game.  The Sea Gulls evened the scored 26 seconds later as Mike Winter scored off a feed from Sam Bradman.  Senior midfielder Chad Freedman (Charlottesville, VA/St. Anne's-Belfield) regained the lead for the Shoremen as he dodged three defenders and scored at the goal with 11:20 to go in the first quarter. Salisbury answered with a goal by Bradman 33 seconds later.  The score remained 2-2 through the first quarter as the Shoremen killed a three-man down situation and freshman goalie Matt Miller (Baldwin, MD/Calvert Hall) made seven saves in the period after allowing the first two goals.

The Sea Gulls took their first lead of the game when Bradman found Matt Cannone for a goal with 11:12 left in the second quarter. The Shoremen evened the score at 3-3 with an extra-man goal by sophomore attackman Billy Stafford (White Hall, MD/Hereford) off an assist by freshman attackman Patrick Coyle (Reisterstown, MD/Calvert Hall) with 10:19 to go in the second. Salisbury retook the lead when Shawn Zordani picked off a clear attempt and found Bradman for a goal with 9:36 left in the quarter.  Washington knotted the score at 4-4 when junior midfielder Shane Kaski (Mosley, VA/Midlothian) scored with 8:15 to go and pulled back in front when Stafford fed Herdegen for an extra-man goal with 5:17 on the clock. Sophomore attackman Dominic Serio (Finksburg, MD/Mount St. Joseph) gave the Shoremen a 6-4 lead with a goal off an assist from sophomore midfielder Brad Ruzicka (Baltimore, MD/Dulaney) with 3:53 on the clock. Salisbury cut the lead to 6-5 when Bradman scored off an assist by Cannone with 3:14 remaining in the quarter and tied the score at 6-6 when Jake DeLillo scored an extra-man goal with 40 seconds left before the intermission. Bradman looked to get a buzzer-beating shot off at the end of the quarter, but was stripped by WC senior defenseman Thom Cecere (Annapolis, MD/St. Mary's) as the score remained tied at a half-dozen goals a piece at halftime.

Salisbury held a 20-16 lead in shots at halftime, but Miller's 11 saves over the first 30 minutes helped offset that advantage. 

The Sea Gulls pulled ahead, 7-6, when Winter scored off a Bradman feed 1:40 into the third quarter. Zordani exteneded the margin to 8-6 with an unassisted goal with 2:38 remaining in the third and Eric Law scored off a DeLillo assist with 1:03 remaining in the period to make it 9-6. 

Coyle ended the Salisbury run with a goal off a Herdegen assist with 12:39 left in the game to pull the Shoremen to back within two goals at 9-7. DeLillo made it 10-7 with a goal off an assist from Winter with 11:02 remaining, and Winter scored off a pass from Kevin Finn with 10:22 left to give Salisbury a four-goal cushion at 11-7. Will Poletis scored with four seconds left to provide the final margin.

Bradman led the Sea Gulls with three goals and three assists, while Winter had three goals and one assist. Johnny Rodriguez made nine saves for Salisbury.

Miller finished with 15 saves for the Shoremen.  Herdegen led Washington's offense with two goals and an assist, while Coyle and Stafford each had one goal and one assist.

Salisbury finished with a 39-30 advantage in shots and won 13 of the game's 22 face-offs.